


You Do Not Observe

by Massiel



Category: Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-28
Updated: 2013-01-28
Packaged: 2017-11-27 05:24:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/658452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Massiel/pseuds/Massiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He sat in only Box 5 because, from that angle, all the audience could see was an ordinary man</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Do Not Observe

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick drabble. Because I noticed that the wall of Box 5 is on the right, and the Phantom's mask is on the right side of his face. And I wondered if he had chosen it for a reason.

He was the man who controlled the opera, the ghost that guided it. The box that remained empty for his use at every performance was a sign of respect, though he had chosen which one himself. By night, he had experimented, seeing from which angles only his face – and not the mask that covered his disfigurement – was visible. Box number five was the only place from which he could be perceived as yet another audience member.

At times, he idly wondered how many people had looked across at him, casually exchanged nods with him, smiled at him, as they might with any other person. How many people had accepted him as one of them, all the while unsuspecting of the fact that the recipient of all their gestures was the mysterious Phantom?

Once or twice, he considered revealing himself, but refrained each time. If he did, his sanctuary would disappear, and he would have to retreat back into the shadows. He valued the brief forays into the light too much to jeopardize them. Being part of the crowd for just a few hours was better than forever being the outcast that, at heart, he knew he was.


End file.
